PARIS — The number of military personnel engaged in peacekeeping operations around the world fell to the lowest in at least a quarter century in 2025, and geopolitical tension and lack of funding are jeopardizing the viability of multilateral peacekeeping, according to research by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
The number of international personnel deployed for peace…
Rubio ratchets up pressure on NATO at key summit
May 25, 2026
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is casting new doubt on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s relevance to the United States after key allies recoiled from backing Washington’s “Operation Epic Fury.”
Rubio, speaking to reporters following a meeting with foreign…
A Congressional Research Service report released this month tallied 42 U.S. aircraft lost or damaged during Operation Epic Fury, the 40-day campaign against Iran that began Feb. 28. It is the most complete public accounting of a war the Pentagon has yet to assess on its own…
The small Montana-based tech company Reveal Technology announced that its biometric tool Identifi has been formally adopted as a program of record by U.S. Special Operations Command, or USSOCOM. And, according to last week’s announcement, it’s a major milestone, not just for the company but for the technology as well.
Garrett Smith, Reveal’s chief executive officer, explained that the…
ROME — Italy is considering backing out of a second EU-supported boost to defense spending, taking to about €27 billion ($31 billion) the amount of rearmament cash it could forego as it focuses on tackling soaring energy costs.
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has…
Operation Epic Fury may have strengthened the case for directed energy weapons, but the U.S. Navy’s dream of putting “a laser on every ship” may take significantly longer than expected to realize.
In a posture statement delivered to the House Armed Services Committee…
The remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper was the workhorse in the U.S. air campaign against Iran, Air Force leaders told Congress on May 20, even as the service’s fiscal 2027 budget request still pours the bulk of aircraft dollars into crewed fighters.
Having repeatedly proven their worth, unmanned aircraft will “play an increasingly important role as we build out into the future across the board,”…
ROME — The mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is set to expire at the end of 2026, despite renewed violence in the country that has already claimed the lives of six peacekeepers.
After years of U.S. pressure, the decision was taken by the UN…
VIENNA — Russia launched its largest nuclear exercises in years on Tuesday, mobilizing nearly 65,000 troops, over 200 missile launchers, 140 aircraft, 73 surface vessels and 13 submarines, including eight strategic nuclear submarines, in a three-day drill that runs through…
RIGA, Latvia — NATO’s plans to strengthen deterrence along its eastern flank envision an “autonomous zone” where only unmanned systems operate, with linked sensors, drones and long-range fires to detect and target invading Russian forces at the start of a conflict, alliance officials said on the sidelines of military exercises in Latvia last week.
Latvian troops tried out unmanned ground…
